Movie Mania: The Evil Dead + Evil Dead II + Army of Darkness

Inspired by my last post about Braindead, a zombie comedy, I re-watched classic trilogy in this field. Although The Evil Dead started out as real horror stuff, the second and third installment also go into the comedy segment.

The Plot:

The Evil Dead:
A group of friends get together to spend a nice weekend in a cabin out in the woods. As it behooves for a good horror film, it doesn’t take long until the trouble begins. The teenagers accidentally awaken something very dark when they play a tape with recitations from the Necronomicon Ex Mortis. One after the other they get possessed…

Evil Dead II:
Beginning exactly where the first part ended, Evil Dead II picks up the story of the only survivor Ash. After killing all his friends (and girlfriend) he tries to escape only to be possessed aswell. But as day breaks he returns to normal. It turns out that the only way our has been destroyed trapping Ash in the hut.
Later we discover that the only way to put the demons back in their place is opening a portal…

Army of Darkness:
Again we start just were we left. Ash gets pulled into the portal and lands in 1300 A. D. However, the only way for him to get back is retrieving the Necronomicon Ex Mortis (the book that also started all the trouble). He begins his journey and soon unleashes an entire war…

The Rating:

To be honest, if you decide to watch the trilogy you can leave out the first part. Although it attempts to be a real horror movie and does have some rather gory scenes it doesn’t really thrill me. I’ve seen plenty of horror films so far and despite having some unique ideas The Evil Dead isn’t as frightening or exciting as some other stuff. The Evil is surely not a bad film, but trust me, I’ve seen better.
The other two parts however, are brilliant. Once it was decided to make horror comedy instead of pure horror, I could only be great. There are so many ridiculous and funny scenes, you won’t believe it. The gory aspect of course is also strong in this two movies. It mixes just perfectly with the funny stuff.
Especially the third film Army of Darkness is great to watch as it is different from the other stuff. Seeing Ash modify his armor, I know where Robert Rodriguez got the idea for a machine gun leg (in Planet Terror).
Another point I really love about the Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness are the more than awesome quotes:

Well hello Mister Fancypants. Well, I’ve got news for you pal, you ain’t leadin’ but two things, right now: Jack and shit… and Jack left town.